Civil societies advocating for free HIV /AIDS society especially among the young people are calling up on Government not to give more priority in the fighting of the spread of COVID-19 but also put more emphasis on other diseases that are claiming the lives of many Ugandans.
The civil societies under the leadership of Uganda Network of young people Living with HIV/AIDS (UNYPA) says that Government should come up with comprehensive Health / Medical Interventions that addresses all the health needs of the ordinary people in the country.
According to Awori Ruth, the Programme manager at UNYPA says that many young people living with HIV/AIDS have lost their lives due to the pronounced lock down measures which government declared as way of means to combat the spread of Corona Virus.
>“We congratulate our Government towards the combating of COVID-19 but the measures have greatly affected the young people living with the HIV virus, the measures especially those that restricted the movement of people hindered the youth to access to heal facilities where they go for the HIV/AIDS related health service s such as access to counseling and HIV /AIDS related drugs” Awori said
Among other diseases which the civil societies wants government to priorities alongside the combating of COVID-19 include HIV/ AIDS, Tuberculosis, Mental health, Cancer among other diseases, she said that the government should ensure that the local people suffering from such illness access to quality health / medical services for the better of their lives.
The officer made the appeal during the Launch of the 8th Edition of the younger people living with HIV/AIDS beauty pageant at the Kampala Serena Hotel.
Speaking at the same event, the Executive Director of UNYPA Isaac Lekdyang said that fighting HIV /AIDS among the young people require more approaches that ate friendly to them that is why they have resorted to organism Beauty pageant competitions for the younger people living with the virus which he said it has helped I fighting stigma among the communities towards young people living with the virus.
“As an organization we have been organizing theses Beauty pageant for the last over six years this is our 8th edition through edition we have managed to get winners from the regions of Uganda who later becomes our Ambassador’s in the lower communities towards the fight against HIV/ AIDS “ He explained.
The Young Positive Beauty Pageant is an annually campaign aimed at fighting stigma and discrimination as well as addressing the structural drivers of gender based violence and other HIV /Sexual reproductive Health issues against young people living with and affected by the HIV/AIDS.
Furthermore, the beauty contest also addresses both self-stigma faced by young people living with the virus and the community stigma driven by the environment towards Young people living with the virus by uplifting their plight and harnessing the power of empowered young people living with the virus.
The objective of the competition is to improve care and support within the health sector and home based care giving. This will be achieved through engagement of young positive living youth Ambassadors who will continuous sensitize their host communities about HIV /AIDS.
Second to that the campaign also aims at reducing the challenge impediment to public health programs, leading to a reduction in further HIV infections, the provision of adequate health care and support as well as mitigating the impact of HIV/ AIDS.
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